Thou Shall Not Speak in Tongues (at least at one seminary)
So it’s chapel service at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Rev. McKissic said he sometimes speaks in tongues while praying. Uh oh! Then the #&*@ hit the fan, and the trustees voted 36-1 that any sort of promotion for speaking in tongues will not be tolerated. So this brings up two questions:
1. How secure is the job for the one person who voted against the measure?
2. How do they justify not speaking in tongues on campus, when it was such a large part of early Christianity? I’m just a donkey so what do I know, but haven’t they read Acts 2?
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:32 am
I have seen this phenomenon in action and I think they are right to be wary of it. Speaking in tongues is very easily faked, and the people who do it invariably become self-satisfied with this symbol of how much closer they are to Jesus than everyone else. It’s like wearing a huge diamond necklace to church on Sunday morning. The obvious pride in showing off the gift to others makes it invidious, the bain of much of Christian existence. If they can only display this gift of tongues in privacy, watch how fast most of them will lose it.
October 26th, 2006 at 10:45 am
its a gift from God use it! Be proud of it. Like a gift you get! you want to show the world! Great job brother keep on speaking…
October 27th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
[sigh]
Once again, we’ve let our knee-jerks get the best of us… Glossolalia is scriptural, practiced within the specific bounds outlined in 1 Corinthians (and elsewhere).
OF COURSE it can be faked.
So can praying.
So can worship.
So can tithing.
So can any number of spiritual activities or disciplines we pharisees turn into a ’show’. That’s why Paul tells the church in Corinth to test prophesy.
The danger is when my beloved alma mater tries to act as the Holy Spirit in my life. Especially my private prayer life. Geesh.
How funny would it be if the Holy Spirit suddenly fell on the next Chapel service and all those good little conservative preacher boys started speaking in tongues…?? Can you imagine God doing it just to remind us that He’s God and SWBTS is not?
I can.
November 2nd, 2006 at 5:08 am
Point 1 made me laugh out loud. Was that the guy himself?
Matt